Back to the Future III. OK for what it is. If this were a stand-alone film, or the first of the series, it would have been quickly forgotten.

2015

Easy Rider [9]

This would be a [4] if it came out today. It would be a [6] if it came out in the 90s. A [7 or 8] if in the 80s. But it is a solid [10] for 1969. It influenced, in many aspect (acting, directing, editing) a lot of film that followed.

Rock N Rolla [5]

Not cookie-cutter, not boring. But didn’t do much for me.

Inside Out [9]

Might be Pixar’s best film. And that is saying a lot.

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968) [7]

Predictable, cartoonish. But man, does the lead actor deliver.

E:60 Never Walk Alone

E:60 Longshot; Stephen Curry

SC Featured – Isaiah Bird: No Excuses

The Flying Scotsman [8]

The movie is good. What makes this an [8], instead of a [7], is how tough the real-life Graeme Obree is.

God Gave Me Wings [6]

An inspiring story that did really good with the budget it apparently had.

Ex Machina [9]

Astonishing in every way. I predict it will get nominated for four Oscars and win at least one (Best Actress).

Avengers: Age of Ultron [6]

Kinda boring for a huge-budget, superhero movie.

Mad Max: Fury Road [8]

Unwritten rule of screenwriting: Every movie should have a chase scene in it. But what if the entire movie was a chase scene? A bold idea, and it works. Creative and effective movie. It is a bit confusing in that the movie is Charlize Theron’s character’s story. It’s her movie, and she carries it. Max is literally along for the ride. Plus he hardly says anything. Plus his accent goes in and out. The title, “Mad Max” is a bit misleading.

The Last Waltz [10]

Watch this. It will affect your life.

??

Away and Back Again

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon [10]

This movie affected me like few movies ever have. And I’ve seen a few. You will never watch a movie like this again in your life. Ever.

’71 [7]

The personal element of the younger brother in orphanage raises the film. For soldiers, these guys seemed poorly trained. The tension is sustained nicely. Nice rhythm of tension and twists. Just enough people involved to fuel the twists and tension, that is, to raise the stakes. Not great, though.

The Ides Of March [7]

Silver Lining Playbook [7]

Seduced and Abandoned [7]

Fascinating to me, but the topic (movie making) is fascinating to me. I know not everyone would love it like I did.

Horrible Bosses 2

Again, the cast elevates this from worthless all the way to good.

Horrible Bosses

The cast make this a very good comedy. Superb casting.

??

On Golden Pond

Captain America: Winter Soldier

Everly (2014)

Interstellar [9]

Wow. I haven’t cried in four years. But I cried several times during this movie. Has there ever been a sic-fi film this human? Astonishing in every way. Did they ever tell us that the worm hole was still open? I don’t remember that. But that’s the only way he could get to Brand at the end.

Into the Woods [5]

It did nothing for me. But some people loved it. I know this because my daughters watched it about five times, back to back. Each to their own. The music gets rather grating after a couple of time.

2014

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

American Sniper [8]

I could watch this over and over. Very well done.

The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies

A Walk Among the Tombstones [3]

So, so bad. The story and lines are wearisome. Every detective movie cliche is in here. Everyone of them. Liam is fantastic, but the story is almost unwatchable. Wow. The last 15 minutes are just terrible. A confusing, inconsistent, cheap cliche.

Gone Girl [4]

I don’t get the hype. I didn’t like it. I wonder, was the buzz around this movie real? Or was it created by the studio? This was “Fatal Attraction” for this generation… except much less believable or suspenseful.

Stonehearst Asylum

Feels more like a play than a movie. Some clever lines:

“Believe none of what you hear. And half of what you see.”

“Misery has a way of clarifying one’s convictions.”

“Those cowards who send others to their deaths …”

“What makes a man ill also cures him.”

“I know what cruelty is.”

Box Trolls

Book of Life [6]

Confusing at times, but I liked this.

The Equalizer [3]

Wow. Impressive in its awfulness. Her lines are terrible. His are good. Denzel has as much gravity as a f****** black hole. he pulls you deep into the story with one glance. Denzel’s character’s back story unfolds so slowly you get confused and just don’t care anymore. Some lines and plot details are on the nose. There’s a water/rain scene. The bad guys are pretty cartoonish and one-dimensional. More on-the-nose lines. The bad guys are REALLY cartoonish. Cartoon super villains. Disappointing. Not worth seeing for any reason.

Mockingjay (2014)

John Carter (2013) [1]

This is so bad that the awfulness is impressive.

Battleship (2014) [4]

The lead is not likable, even as an antihero. He is almost repugnant.

The Babadook (2014) [8]

Brilliant. Watch this.

Fury (2014) [7]

Sometimes stars are stars because they are stars (because they have so much “star power”). Brad Pitt is one of those stars. He is riveting. Even when his performance is a tad uneven.

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Housebound (2014) [8]

Brilliant. Watch this.

22 Jump Street (2014) [4]

I thought it was cliche, patronizing, trite, formulaic.

The Shooting (1966)

Dolpin Tale 2

The Purge

Just a really terrible movie. Almost everything about it was terrible. Almost every scene was terrible. The sequel, “The Purge: Anarchy”, while not a great movie, was much better. The first one didn’t have anything. The second one had good scenes, interesting turns, “legs”, and raised questions. The first one felt like a rough draft.

Duma [8]

Predictable. But better than the vast majority of “family movies” out there.

Eden Lake

Not an American horror film. And I mean that as high praise. Very intense, but very unsatisfying ending.

Europa Report (Sci-Fi)

Pretty good. Not as good as “Moon”, but decent.

Blue Ruin [8]

Cross-reference: MUD. Both are outstanding, atypical revenge stories.

Horns

Started out as a brilliant, unique story. Ended up as a cliche, disappointing film.

Cabin in the Woods [9]

Brilliant. The most inventive horror film I have seen. Strange as it may sound to say, there is a lot of love in this film. The viewer gets the sense that the filmmakers love the genre in particular, and storytelling in general. If you can stomach horror, watch this film.

Anti-christ

Oh dear. Do not watch. The movie asks some profound, connected questions. But it leaps past expectations and sensibilities and doesn’t use the shock as as a way of stretching the viewer to reach difficult questions. It just becomes a predictable, even boring, gore-fest.

Rush: Behind the lighted Stage

The Purge: Anarchy

Coriolanus

??

Dolphin Tale

Edge of Tomorrow

Guardians of the Galaxy

Red

Lego Movie

300 ROAE

Afflicted

Frozen

??

Valhalla Rising

Things are in the corners of the screen.

Lots of shots of setting. Fog. Red. Little dialog.

A mute lead!!

“The white man has only one god. And they eat his body an drink his blood. Savages.”

Triangle/pyramid composition.

Hard, cold men. Willing to do what others are not.

Moody soundtrack. Dissonant.

Steady stares. The whole film is. A lot of CU looking.

A lot of Christian religion references. I cannot tell if the film is trying to make a point about religion. But if it is, the point might be: there is as much violence and danger within religion as there is without.

Tremendous tension. Even on a motionless boat. Even without action. Almost an exercise in tension. I.e.: the cut rolling back and forth.

This film could/should be almost an hour shorter by cutting out scenery shots that don’t move the story forward.

“I couldn’t find my way home. Then I realized I was dead.”

The middle 1/2 hour pointless. Nothing actually happened.

A camera follow always creates tension.

“The unseen enemy is most dangerous.”

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Karate Kid III

“A man who lives without forgiveness lives a fate worse than death.”

The house the bad guy lives in… SO COOL. Lovely, unified design

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Snowpiercer

Need for Speed (2013)

Terrible. Disjointed. Terrible.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2014)

Wow. Not even a little close to the original. What seemed to be missing, compared to the original and other great films, was joy in the performance. Also, it stank.

Bronson

An OK film. But Tom Hardy delivers!

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Stan Lee’s 7

Neat idea. Boring.

Saving Mr. Banks

Philomenia

Bluebeard

What is happening? What did I just watch? Why did this get made? I had to look into the story to answer those questions. The film is based on an old, captivating French legend. The legend certainly deserves a film. It really seems, however, that a much better film could have been made.

Au Revoir, Les Enfants [9]

I love this style of visual storytelling. It is rarely seen in American films. The style is this: the story unfolds in front of the camera, rather than the camera attempting to make the story. This movie, and so many movies from Europe and Asia, use the first style. Almost every American film uses the second style.

I am struck by the film’s commitment to the story, characters, setting, and mood. Nothing is allowed to get in the way of those things. An American filmmaker would make a number of things more important than those aspects. Things such as: the star or stars, the cinematography, the camera, the special effects, the use of popular music, the use of stylistic editing, jamming the story into the “bankable” formulaic plot structure.

But in this film, nothing is forced. The storytelling is patient, graceful, and simple. Nothing is cheesy or exaggerated.

There are many delicate stories here. Not just the main story, but also the periphery stories. And they are connected in a delicate web. The viewer gets the sense that any one story, or all of them, could blow away with the slighted tug or pressure. And, indeed, that is what happens.

The woods at the end is terrifying. The threat of danger is heavy. Of course, Nazis in Paris is ominous, but there are no forced, cliche scares here. There is no brutality, rather there is ominous, overwhelming mix of emotions. There is ominous fear and deep sadness.

Wow. The slow, slow tears at the end.

Everything is understated.

Kon Tiki (2012)

Charlie Bartlett

E.T.

This is the 3rd time I have seen it. A lot of things have to come together to make a hit movie. Much less a timeless movie. In “E.T.”, all the pieces* seem right. The casting, the story, the directing, the perspective seem right. (*pun partially intended)

Willy Wonka (2005)

Red Corner

Zero Dark Thirty

Pirates of the Caribbean (first one)

Silent Hill Revelations

Needs a plot. Lots of boring scenes.

Swiss Family Robinson

Whale Rider

G-Force

Nausicaa

Ikiru

Chances Are

Whispers of the Heart

2013

Karate Kid (2010)

Perfect Stranger

Cowboys and Aliens

Thunderstruck

First Position

Ramona & Beezus

Here Comes the Boom

Much more engaging and enjoyable than I expected. (I thought it would be worthless top to bottom, start to finish.)

Also: Salma Hayek!

Skyfall

Nashville

My 2nd or 3rd time watching it. It remains my 2nd favorite movie of all time, after “8 1/2”. Part of why I love it is because I get it. I hear the messages. Everything that isn’t spoken is shouted. I could talk for days about this film.

Treasure Island

Titan A.E.

??

Miss Congeniality

Miss Congeniality II

Jack Reacher

Cannibal Holocaust

Iron Man 3

Taken 2

Chasing Mavericks

Boys and Girls Guide to Getting down

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Harry Potter 1

Harry Potter 2

Harry Potter 3

Harry Potter 4

Harry Potter 5

Harry Potter 6

El Superbeasto

Senna

Monsters University

Harry Potter 7

Harry Potter 8

Twilight 1

Twilight 2

Twilight 3

Twilight 4

Avengers Flashpoint Paradox

Oblivion

The Croods

Furious 6

Despicable Me 2

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

The Wolverine

Jobs

Epic

TV: Sherlock S1-3

TV: Breaking Bad S5. Finished the series

The Conjuring

World War Z [8]

I really like this film.

Buck

Insomnia [6]

I never liked this film. It is neither entertaining nor interesting to me.

Pacific Rim [7]

Like every other action movie ever made, the idea was great. But, like every other action movie ever made, the idea was jammed into the same plot as every other action movie ever made. The result is: a quickly forgotten movie.

Return to nims island

??

We Are What We Are

OK. Not great. Not bad. Has a slow-dread feel, which is well-done, and which is refreshing since no American horror films, apparently, can do anything other than gore and jump-scares.

??

Enders Game

This is the end

We’re the Millers

One of the worst movies I have ever seen. All the more worse because the intended audience will like it… because they know they are supposed to like it.

??

Turbo

The Girl Next Door (Ketchem)

True horror. It is interesting to see two takes on the same story. Two different styles. Two different effects on the viewer. Two different vibes.

An American Crime

True horror

Holes

The Snowtown Murders

True horror

Frozen

Love this movie!

Home Alone 1

Home Alone 2

Home Alone 3

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Just read your comments for the first time… oh my, they are good and insightful (and helpful). Before today, when I clicked on the link I received an error message but now it works 🙂 Yay! Great job, Mr. Huhn!